Body and head guard



`luly 31, 1956 F. MALACHOWSK! BODY AND HEAD GUARD Filed July 6, 1954 INVENTR.

M www@ United States Patent @thee 2,756,429 Patented July 31, 1956 yBODY AND lHEAD GUARD Frank Malachowski,-Buialo,'N. Y.

Application July 6,1954, Serial No. V441,239

1 Claim. (Cl. A2-2) The invention of the present application relates to protective VdevicesV and is particularly concerned with devices of this character adapted for wearing during participation in sports and the like.

It is the principal object of the present inventionto provide a novel guard Yof the-character described which furnishes protection for the4 hea'd and throat of the wearer as well as for a large area of the vWearers body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a guard of the character described which gives a minimum of interference with movements of the wearer.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a guard .of the .character described which may convenientlybe put on and removed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a guard of the character described which is light in weight and yet rugged in construction.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a guard constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a transverse, sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a transverse, sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

In many sports certain players are particularly subject to injury by being struck with balls or other articles or equipment employed in such sports. An outstanding example of such a situation is that of a baseball catcher. Because of his position to the rear of the batter the catcher is not only likely to be hit by pitched balls, but is frequently struck by foul tips and occasionally by the bat. It has, therefore, been customary for catchers to wear chest or body protectors and separate masks or face guards supported on their heads and extending over their faces. Such masks are necessarily heavy and their use in addition to being tiring to the wearers thereof interferes with their head movement.

By the present invention there is provided a single, unitary guard that will protect not only the body of the catcher but his head and throat. Since the guard of the present invention is made as a one-piece unit which is supported solely by the wearers body rather than being made in two pieces, one of which is carried on the head of the wearer, it is much more convenient to use. It is, moreover, less tiring to use since the entire weight of a mask does not have to be supported by the wearers head. In addition, it provides greater freedom of movement for the head of the wearer.

As shown in the drawings, a guard constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a bodyprotective portion or pad 11 and a head-protective portion 12. The body-protective portion 11 is formed with a central, substantially rigid frame 14 comprising a grid of crossed and joined heavy wires. The grid, which Vextends through the `portion 11 and is Ivertical when the yguard is worn,'includes a plurality of longitudinal Wires protected by covers 23 and 24 of canvas, rubber or other suitable sheet material. Around its periphery the bodyprotective pad 11 is bound with one or ymore str ips -26 of leather, rubber or other wear-resistant material which may be stitched or laced through the edges of the `covers 23 and'24 as clearly shown in Figure 4.

The head-protectiveportion 12 of the novel` guard of 4the present invention is formed basically by continuations of the vertical wires 16, 17 and 18 of the frame 14 that project from the upper end of the body-protective portion-12. In forming the head-protective portion 12 tne vertical Awiresare bent in a forwardly projecting arcuate shape, as bestfseen Vin Figure 2, and, at a'point therebelow, rthe outer wires 16 and 18 are bent to form in wardly curved `arcuate sections 27 and 28. Cross bars 31 of heavy Wire are secured, as by welding, to the vertical wiresf16, 17 i and 18 at spaced intervals, thereby forming 4a grill behind which the head andithroat of the -wearer of the yguard are protected. As seen best in Figure 3, the wire cross bars 31 are preferably curved so that the head-protective portion 12 is generally conveX in cross section. To insure protection of a wearers head and throat it will be necessary to use quite heavy wire. Steel wire at least as large as B. & S. No. 5 is preferred. With such wire the head-protective portion is quite rigid and is substantially rigidly supported by the body-protective pad 11. It will be realized, however, that the supporting wires 16, 17 and 1S are somewhat resilient.

The novel guard of the invention is supported on the body of a wearer by straps .34 and 36, the former being secured to rings 37 fastened by loops 3S to the body portion 11 adjacent the lower end thereof. At its upper end the pad 11 is formed as a yoke and the ends of the upper strap 36, which is adapted to be placed around the neck of a wearer, are attached to the upwardly projecting shoulder pieces 38 and 39 of the yoke. The straps 34 and 36 are preferably elastic, in part at least.

As shown in Figure 2 the body-protective portion 11, except for the central section containing the frame 14, is flexible. Consequently, the sides thereof tend to pull around the sides of the body of the wearer and the members 38 and 39 curve rearwardly against the shoulders of the wearer.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the body and head guard of the present invention is simply but ruggedly constructed and is not only convenient to use, but is very effective in use. From the standpoint of convenience, it will be noted that the entire weight of the guard is carried by the body of the wearer and, therefore, the head is not burdened with the weight of a separate mask. Further, the head-protective portion, being unconnected to the head of the wearer, allows much more freedom of movement therefor. in addition, when the wearers head is turned to either side there is no obstruction of the View. Since the padding necessary with a separate head mask is unnecessary, the present guard is also relatively light in weight.

So far as its effectiveness is concerned, it will be apparent that the padded, body-protective portion will absorb the blows of balls or other articles hitting it without possibility of injury to the body of the wearer. The

`grillV formed bytheV heavy vertical anlvhorizontalvwres in front of the head and throat of the wearer is substantial and can also withstand heavy blows without damage to the'guard or injury to the wearer. It will be realized that the energy of a blow on the head-protective portion 12, as from a ball or other object, will be absorbed in a combination of three ways. Some of the energy will be absorbed by tensioning of the lower strap V34 as the guard tends to pivot about a horizontal axis adjacent the shoulders of the wearer. Energy isjalso absorbed by slight deflection of thev Vresilient longitudinal trame wires 16, 17 and 18. Such deflection tends to compress the padding 21 back of the frame 14 in the portion 11 of the guard and additional absorption of energy results. Since no portion of the energy of the blow is transmitted directly to the head of the wearer of the present novel guard, numerous severe shocks are thereby spared the wearer.

It will be understood that the designs of combined body and head guards embodying the principles of the present invention may Vary considerably. Thus, for eX- ample, the shape of the body-protective portion and/or the head-protective portion may be changed to conform to the special requirements of wearers in particular games or sports or to the fancies yof individuals. The manner in which the guard is fastened or secured on the body of the wearer is likewise subject to modification as desired. Also, for example, the arrangement, number, etc. of cross-wires in the frame 14 or in the portion 12 may be altered as needed or desired. Consequently, it is not desired that the present invention be considered limited by the precise embodiment shown in the drawingswand described above, but it is 'intended that the invention be given as broad an interpretation as is permitted by the appended claim.

I claim:

A guard of the character described having a front body protective portion, a neck protective portion, a chin protective portion and a face protective portion, including a substantially rigid frame comprising at least three individually continuous, vertically disposed, horizontally spaced wires, cross wires connecting the lower parts of said vertically disposed wires to form said body protective portion, the intermediate parts of said vertically disposed wires forming said neck protective portion and the upper` parts. of said vertically disposed wires projecting forwardly to form said chin protective portion and thence upwardly, cross wires connecting said parts Vof said vertically disposed wires projecting upwardly from said chin protective portion to form said face protective portion, padding covering and secured to said body protective portion, and straps secured to said body protective portion and adapted to be fastened to the body of the user.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,040,267 Brewster Oct. 8, 1912 2,266,886 McCoy Dec. 23, 1941 Y FOREIGN PATENTS 472,614 France Aug. 11, 1914 533,714 Germany Aug. 31, 1930 

